Uber rival Taxify hails progress with move to operate in London

Ride-hailing app Taxify made progress with its application for a licence to operate in London last week, just as Transport for London decided to withdraw the permissions for rival Uber in the city, said people close to Taxify. The Estonian app, backed by China's car-booking group Didi Chuxing, is attempting to challenge Uber in some key markets, including the UK. Its arrival in London in early September was expected to trigger the start of a price war among rivals in Uber's largest European market, but Taxify was quickly banned because of problems with its license. Taxify is one of a number of alternatives to Uber that are preparing to capitalise on the company's potential banning in London by gaining customers and taking more share of the growing market for online car booking. Gett, one such black taxi booking service that counts Volkswagen as a major investor, has seen a 250 per cent bump in its daily UK downloads since the Uber decision. "We want to encourage Uber passengers back to black cabs," the company said, adding it provided "The same convenience of app-hailing and a higher standard of service".